Video gaming device and communications system

ABSTRACT

A video gaming device includes a game computer which is connected to a central computer and a plurality of player stations connected to the game computer. Connection of the player stations may be effected using an interface device which includes at least one serial port which has a transmit line for transmitting data to a player station and a receive line for receiving data from a player station, input port means and output port means for communication with the game computer, and processing means for routing data between the said serial port and the input and output port means.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. 120 of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/189,016, filed Jul. 26, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No.7,201,661, which is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. 120 of copending U.S.application Ser. No. 09/787,103, filed Jul. 25, 2001, which is a USnational phase filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 of Intentional Application No.PCT/ZA99/00085, filed Sep. 14, 1999, which claims priority on U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/100,449, filed Sep. 14, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to video gaming systems and, moreparticularly, to improvements in communications, accounting and securitysystems for video gaming machines.

2. Description of the Background Art

In many areas, it is necessary to provide a relatively detailedaccounting of each video gaming machine's activity to assure that themachine operates within regulated standards. Meters are often providedto track money input into and money dispensed from the machines. Becausemoney may sometimes be inserted to a machine but not wagered, forexample where a player inserts a certain amount of cash or credit butcashes out before betting the entire amount, the simple ratio of moneyin to money out does not accurately reflect the machine's operationalactivities. Accordingly, it is helpful to also track the amount of moneywagered and the amount of money or credits won by the player.

In larger facilities such as casinos, a central computer typicallymonitors such information for a plurality of embedded system singleplayer gaming machines through a “location controller.” Each videogaming machine serially communicates with the location controller toprovide appropriate information to the central computer. If the centralcomputer detects an irregularity regarding a particular game, itinstructs the location controller to deactivate the game. An exemplarysystem including a location controller and embedded system circuitry ata video gaming machine for providing information to the locationcontroller is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,361 and U.S. Pat. No.5,470,079, the entire disclosure of each of these patents beingincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention recognizes and addresses disadvantages of priorart construction and methods.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a videogaming machine system having improved communication with a centralcomputer. It is an object of an embodiment of the present invention toprovide a video gaming machine system in which video gaming machinescommunicate with a central computer without the use of a locationcontroller.

To achieve the foregoing and other objects of the invention, theinvention provides an interface device for use in a video gaming devicewhich includes: (a) at least one serial port which has a transmit linefor transmitting data to a player station and a receive line forreceiving data from a player station; (b) input port means and outputport means for communication with a game computer; and (c) processingmeans for routing data between the said send port and the input andoutput port means.

Buffer means may be provided between the serial port and the processingmeans.

The input port means may include an input buffer and a serial port, andthe output port means may include a port and an output buffer.

The device may include means for connecting the processing means toinput and output devices.

Preferably the input devices are selected at least from player inputbuttons or keys, currency acceptor devices, and magnetic and integratedcircuit card readers, and the output devices are selected at least fromlamps, digital output displays, meters, currency return devices, tokendispensers, ticket dispensers and magnetic and integrated circuit cardwriters.

The invention also provides an interactive video gaming device whichincludes an interface device of the aforementioned kind, a game computerwhich is connected to the said input port means and output port means,and at least one player station which is connected to 1 5 the saidserial port.

The game computer may be connected to a central computer.

The device may include a plurality of player stations which areconnected in a daisy-chain arrangement to the said serial port.

Alternatively the device includes a plurality of player stations whichare connected in a star arrangement to respective said serial ports ofthe interface device.

The invention further extends to an interactive video gaming devicewhich includes a game computer which is connected to a central computerand a plurality of player stations connected to the game computer.

The invention also provides an interactive video gaming device whichincludes a central computer and a plurality of daisy-chain connectedvideo gaming machines selected from single player video gaming machinesand multiplayer video gaming devices connected to the central computer,each single player video gaming machine including a game computer.

According to a different aspect the invention provides a multiplayervideo game which includes a game computer, a daisy-chain configurationof a plurality of player stations connected to the game computer, acentral computer and a location controller connected to the centralcomputer and the player stations.

The invention also provides a multiplayer video game which includes agame computer, a daisy-chain configuration of a plurality of playerstations connected to the game computer, a location controller,connection means between the location controller and the game computer,and a central computer connected to the location controller.

The invention further extends to a player station for a video gamingmachine which includes processing means, first serial input and outputports which are connectable to an interface device, second serial inputand output ports which are connectable to a central computer or othersimilar player stations, a plurality of input devices, a plurality ofoutput devices, and control means connecting the input devices and theoutput devices to the processing means.

The invention also provides a method of operating a gaming system whichincludes the steps of transmitting data directly between at least oneplayer station and a game computer, and transmitting data directlybetween the game computer and a central computer.

The method may include the step of transmitting data successivelybetween a plurality of the said player stations which are seriallyconnected to the game computer.

Preferably the method may include the step of transmitting data betweenthe game computer and each of a plurality of player stations which areconnected in a star arrangement to the game computer.

The method may also include the step of transmitting data between aplurality of single player video gaming machines and the game computer.

The invention also extends to a method of operating a gaming systemwhich includes the steps of transmitting data between a daisy-chainconfiguration of a plurality of player stations and a game computer, andof transmitting data, via a location controller, between the saidconfiguration and a central computer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. A full and enabling disclosure of thepresent invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one ofordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, whichmakes reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multiplayer interactive video gamingdevice for use in a system constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustration of a preferred embodiment of aplayer station that may be used in a multiplayer interactive videogaming device as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustration of a preferred embodiment of aninterface device or concentrator used in a multiplayer interactive videogaming device constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of playerstation hardware used in a multiplayer interactive video gaming deviceconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a preferred embodiment of aninterface device or concentrator used in a multiplayer interactive videogaming device constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of amultiplayer interactive video gaming device for use in a systemconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustration of a preferred embodiment of amultiplayer-interactive video gaming device in a daisy-chainarrangement;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustration of a preferred embodiment of astation architecture used in a multiplayer interactive video gamingdevice in a daisy-chain arrangement;

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a video gamingsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a video gamingsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a video gamingsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a video gamingsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a video gamingsystem in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a video gamingsystem in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred embodimentsof the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Repeat use of reference characters in the presentspecification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogousfeatures or elements of the invention. Each example is provided by wayof explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. Infact, it will apparent to those skilled in the art that modificationsand variations can be made in the present invention without departingfrom the scope or spirit thereof. For instance, features illustrated ordescribed as part of one embodiment may be used on another embodiment toyield a still further embodiment. Thus it is intended that the presentinvention covers such modifications and variations.

FIG. 1 depicts a presently preferred embodiment of a multiplayerinteractive video gaming device, indicated generally at 10. A cabinet Ais divided into player portion 12 and a display portion 14. Displayportion 14 and player station 12 are attached by a connection piece (notvisible in the view shown) through which communication and power linesmay be passed. It should be understood, however, that various cabinetconfigurations are possible. For instance, the player portion and thedisplay portion may be unitarily constructed. Multiplayer video gamingdevices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,174 and U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 08/885,276 and 08/903,086. The entire disclosuresof the '174 patent and the '276 and '086 applications are incorporatedby reference herein for all purposes.

Player portion 12 is constructed to simulate a casino blackjack gametable. Three player stations 16 are disposed on the top counter surfaceof player portion 12. Each player station 16 includes a keypad 18 and acurrency acceptor 20. Each keypad 18 includes a plurality of input keys22 through which players participate in the blackjack game. In theembodiment shown, the currency acceptor is a bill acceptor configured toreceive bills of various denominations. The currency acceptor could alsoaccept coins.

In this embodiment, each keypad 18 includes a first row of five, and asecond of two, input keys 22. It should be understood by those ordinaryskill in this art that the use, number, and arrangement of such keys candepend upon the nature of the video gaming program operated within thepresent invention. For example, a blackjack game may require the use ofdifferent keys for different purposes than a poker game. Bill acceptor20 accepts bills for betting and/or game fee purposes.

A ticket dispenser 19 is mounted at each player station. Players may“cash out” at any time by inputting a proper command at their playerstation. Upon cashing out, a printer mounted within the cabinet prints aredeemable ticket indicating the player's winnings via ticket dispenser19. In other embodiments, a single printer is provided in the cabinet toprint redemption tickets for all players.

A functional illustration of a player station 16 is provided in FIG. 2.As indicated above, the player station includes a plurality of inputdevices 24, which may include, for example, player input buttons 22 andcurrency acceptor devices such as bill acceptors 20 (FIG. 1). Playerstation 16 also includes output devices 26, which may include lamps,digital output displays, meters and/or currency return devices such astoken dispensers or ticket dispensers 19 (FIG. 1), which output currencyto players in the form of redeemable tickets. Currency acceptor andreturn devices may include magnetic card readers/writers and IC cardreaders/writers to accept and/or pay out currency electronically.

Player input messages are transferred from the player stations to aworkstation 28 including a game processor running the video gamingprogram. The workstation may include a data port, such as a serial portor a keyboard port, an input/output system, and a suitable communicationarrangement communicating with a remote game computer. Accordingly, aworkstation assembly may comprise a local computer, to receive inputfrom a plurality of player stations, and a remote computer, to receiveinput signals from the local computer and execute the game programresponsive to such signals. The local and remote computers maycommunicate through any suitable arrangement, for example telephonesystems or local area network systems. The remote computer's gameprocessor thereby receives input signals from the data port of the localcomputer. In this arrangement, a single game processor may operate aplurality of remote player station groups. Alternatively, a workstationassembly may comprise a remote computer and a communications system,such as a telephone system or local area network system, through whichmultiple player stations communicate with the remote computer. Thus, aplurality of single-player stations separated by relatively longdistances may participate in a single-player or multi-player gameoperated by the remote computer.

Additionally, however, the workstation may be a personal computerassembly including an input/output system, one or more data ports and agame processor device in a local unit. As should be understood in thisart, a personal computer is a relatively small, for example as comparedto a main frame, computer that is typically designed for use by a singleuser or by multiple users through a network. It employs components suchas a central processing unit (CPU), memory, and an input/output systemby means of an operating system such as WINDOWS95. The CPU is anintegrated circuit “chip” that can perform a multitude of operations.The input/output system manages data handling among the CPU and otherinternal or external components. Thus, the personal computer is ageneral purpose computer, as opposed to single-program “embedded”system, which may include a dedicated processor device mounted on aprinted circuit board and configured to perform a single function. Apersonal computer assembly may be a board including a processor and aninput/output system. It may also include a cabinet and/or variousexternal and internal components, as should be understood in this art.

Because it is a multipurpose device, the personal computer assemblytypically has no permanent input or output device having directcommunication to the circuit board, or if there is more than one board,to the main circuit board. Instead, data is conveyed between input andoutput devices and the input/output system by data ports. These portsmay have predetermined uses, for example to receive input from akeyboard or a mouse or to direct output to a printer or monitor.Personal computers also often include expansion slots for additionalcircuit boards which may, in turn, include their own data ports.

Although a personal computer assembly is the workstation type most oftendiscussed herein, it should be understood that this is for exemplarypurposes and that all workstation configurations, provided they aresuitable for a given embodiment, are within the scope and spirit of thepresent invention. The remote computer in any of these arrangements mayoperate a progressive jackpot feature in which all communicating playerstations may participate.

The player input message is the information input at the player station,for example by player activation of a button or bill acceptor or bysystem activation of a maintenance condition at a token dispenser, andconveyed to the personal computer through the player station andinterface assembly equipment. During the transmission, the message maytake a variety of forms. For example, in a preferred embodiment asillustrated in the figures, one type of player input message may beinput by pressing a button 22 (FIG. 1). As discussed in more detailbelow, this delivers a signal, for example a pulse, to the playerstation control mechanism, which identifies the pulse and selects anappropriate ASCII input code. The player station outputs the ASCII inputcode to the interface assembly, where the interface assembly controlmechanism converts the input code to a scan code for transmission to thepersonal computer.

Another type of player input message may be input by activating a billacceptor. The bill acceptors may deliver input signals to the playerstation control mechanism in a variety of forms, for example as a seriesof pulses or as a digital word. It should be understood that all suchconfigurations are included within the scope and spirit of the presentinvention.

The internal components of player station 16 are illustratedfunctionally in FIG. 2 by player station processing system 28,transmitting buffer 30 and receiving buffer 32. In a preferredembodiment, processing system 28 receives data directly from inputdevices 24. If many input devices are employed on a player station,however, it is possible to create a row/column matrix for routing datavia multiplexing to the processing system, as should be understood inthis art.

In operation, if the processing system 28 detects, for example, afalling pulse indicating that a particular button has been pressed, theprocessing system associates the pressing of that button with anappropriate code. In a present embodiment, the code is a four charactermessage. The first character indicates that the message is beginning.The second character indicates the message type, which identifies themessage as, for example, a button message or a dollar bill acceptormessage. The third character provides the message information, forexample that button number three has been pressed. The fourth characterindicates the end of a message. The coding prevents information lossand/or message scrambling when the messages are queued or dequeued.

After creation of the appropriate code, the message is stored intransmitting buffer 30. A serial port 34 is provided on player station16 to output the data stored in buffer 30. The serial port converts datafrom a parallel format to a serial format to transmit an coverts form aserial format to a parallel format to receive. Status signals indicatewhether the transmitter is available (empty) and whether the receivercontains data (full). Two data lines, transmit line 36 and receive line38, are connected to serial port 34. Processing system 28 monitors astatus signal associated with transmit line 36. When a “transmitterempty” condition is indicated, the next message character in transmitbuffer 30 is transmitted through serial port 34 along transmit line 36.

Data received from receive line 38 through serial port 34 is stored inreceive buffer 32. Processing system 28 receives messages from buffer 32and acts according to instructions provided thereby. Thus, processingsystem 28 may be caused to illuminate lamps at the player station,dispense coins through a token dispenser, print a cash out ticket, orother desired functions.

In a star arrangement, each player station 16 communicates with acentral interface device for transferring player input messages to thegame computer. As illustrated in FIG. 3, each player stationcommunicates by its respective transmit line 36 and receive line 38 withan interface device or concentrator 40 via serial ports 42. Five playerstations may be employed within the construction illustrated in FIG. 3,although less than five, for example three, may be used. In adaisy-chain arrangement as illustrated in FIG. 7, the player stationsmay be connected in tandem so that messages move in and out ofsuccessive player stations until reaching the central interface device.Each player station includes an additional serial port and buffer, andeach player station processing system generates new messages to the nextplayer station to pass on a message received from a prior playerstation.

Referring again to FIG. 3, interface 30 includes receive buffers 44 andtransmit buffers 46 corresponding to each player station. An interfaceprocessing system 48 controls the transfer of information between thereceive buffers 44 and interface output buffer 50 and between aninterface input buffer 52 and the transmit buffers 46. When processingsystem 48 receives an incoming message from receive buffer 44, theprocessing system converts the message to a scan code which theoperating system on the game computer will recognize. The scan codes arerouted to and stored in transmit buffer 50, which communicates with thegame computer via interface keyboard port 54. A transmit line 56connects interface keyboard port 54 with a game computer keyboard port.Processing system 48 monitors transmit line 56 and when, no data ispresent on the transmit line 56, outputs the scan codes stored intransmit buffer 50 to the game computer over transmit line 56 throughkeyboard port 54.

The scan codes are received by the game computer through its keyboardport. The use of the game computer keyboard port has certain advantages.For example, general purpose computers are typically sold with operatingsystems configured to receive and recognize scan codes from the keyboardport. Thus, the game program may be constructed around the standardkeyboard key strokes that the scan codes represent, and the video gamingprogrammer may rely on the built-in operating system to receive andprocess input data without having to program a custom data operating anderror checking system. Some recent operating systems, for exampleWINDOWS95, receive and process data from operating system ports otherthan the keyboard port, for example certain COMM ports.

While the operating system does not recognize “key up” and “key down”events from these other ports, applications running on the operatingsystem may otherwise take advantage of the operating system to deliverdata from them. For illustrative purposes, not for purposes oflimitation, communication by keyboard port is primarily discussedherein.

Data is routed between the player stations and the game computer throughprocessing systems 28 and 48, illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, and theinput and output buffer systems, without loss of information. Thus, iftwo players press input buttons at their respective player stationssimultaneously, both input messages will be received by the gamecomputer.

Commands from the game computer to player station output devices aretransmitted to interface input buffer 52 via interface device serialport 58. Processing system 48 receives messages from buffer 52,determines to which player station the command should be forwarded, andstores the command in the appropriate output buffer 46 for transmissionto the player station via the corresponding serial port 42. If thesystem is daisy-chained, only one transmit buffer is required. As eachmessage is received by a player station, it is relayed to and examinedby the next player station. If the message is found to be for thisplayer station, that station's processing system performs the requestedaction. Processing system 48 may also communicate directly with inputdevices 24 and output devices 26. These may include the same input andoutput devices discussed above with respect to the player stations. Thatis, the input and output devices of a single player station may bedirectly connected to interface device 40 without player stationprocessing system 28 and buffers 30 and 32 (FIG. 2) that are associatedwith the individual multiple player stations. Thus, the gamecomputer/interface assembly may be used with player stations of singleplayer games which do not have such processing systems or buffers.Accordingly, the game computer/interface assembly may be usedinterchangeably with a multiplayer or a single player configuration.Video gaming machines may be constructed with removable player stationunits so that the game may be converted between a multiplayer game and asingle player game simply by interchanging the player station unit orunits. Provision may be made to reprogram or convert the game computerto a new or previously stored program to enable operation of the newgame.

In another preferred embodiment, the interface device may be physicallyembodied on a player station so that this player station communicateswith the game computer through the keyboard port. Other player stationsoutput messages to the game computer through this first player stationto avoid loss of information. Player station units may be linked to thefirst player station in a star or daisy-chain arrangement and may beadded or removed to achieve a desired number of player stations.

As described above, processing system 48 receives incoming codes fromthe player stations and converts the codes to scan codes which theoperating system on the game computer will recognize. Since there are afinite number of messages which will come from any player station, aunique scan code may be assigned to each particular message from eachplayer station. This may be accomplished, for example, by convertingplayer station messages into keyboard scan codes. Thus, in a preferredembodiment, each player station includes similar input devices in asimilar arrangement and outputs the same messages for the samecorresponding devices. Processing system 48 assigns scan codes based onthe player station message and the player station itself. Thus, theassignment of the scan code depends upon the particular message and theparticular player station from which the message is received.

It should be understood, however, that various suitable configurationsare possible. For example, while in a preferred embodiment the playerstation processing systems assign ASCII codes as the player stationmessages, various coding processes may be employed. Thus, for example,scan codes could be assigned at the individual player stations,eliminating the need to make the assignment at the interface device.

In the illustrated local unit embodiment, the game computer is,preferably, an IBM PC/AT compatible personal computer. Thus, the scancodes assigned by processing system 48 are compatible with the operatingsystem provided on those computers. The operating system is configuredto receive the scan codes from the computer keyboard port and to usethose codes for operating system functions and/or higher levelfunctions. In particular, the IBM PC AT compatible computers may receivethe scan codes and convert them to ASCII codes, which may be output to ascreen and which may be used in commercial or custom software, includingthe gaming program.

A schematic illustration of a player station is provided in FIG. 4. Aplurality of buttons, which for example may be installed in groups of upto eight buttons 22 (FIG. 1), are indicated at 60. Thus, if three buttongroups are used, the player station may be include a total of 24 inputbuttons. A bill acceptor 20 is controlled by a series of dip switches66, which may be used to program the bill acceptor to, for example,accept certain bill denominations and/or select serial or pulse modeoperation.

Output devices include lamp groups 68 and digital output groups 72. Aswith the button groups, each lamp group and each digital output groupincludes eight lamps and eight digital output devices, respectively. Itshould be understood, however, that all of the available input andoutput devices may not necessarily be employed in a particular game; theexemplary construction illustrated in FIG. 4 merely indicates that theyare available. Other output devices include a token dispenser and/orticket dispenser indicated at 78.

Data is transmitted to or from these input and output devices on 8-bitdata bus 80 and is controlled by field programmable gate array 82. Gatearray 82 may be, for example, a Xilinx XC3042 or XC5202 gate array orother suitable device.

Data transfer from the player station is controlled by a processor 84,which, in one preferred embodiment, is an 8051-compatible microcomputerhaving one or two on-chip serial ports. It should be understood thatother processing devices may be used, for example those includingon-board EPROMs. Although processor 84 includes a certain amount ofmemory, SRAM 86 provides additional storage. Together, this memoryserves as the player station buffers. EPROM 88 provides storage for theprogramming for processor 84 and the look-up tables by which input codesmay be assigned to particular input signals. A PAL (not shown), forexample a 20V8 PAL, is provided to decode the microprocessor addressrange into three ranges—EPROM, processor and input/output devices,including the gate array.

In operation, processor 84 controls gate array 82 to input and outputdata to and from the input devices and output devices. An internal logicsignal of the gate array 82 causes gate array 82 to send an interruptsignal to processor 84 every 25 milliseconds. In response to thisinterrupt command, processor 84 orders gate array 82 to sequentiallyplace the contents of the data registers of the respective button groupson data bus 80. Thus, if a player presses one of the buttons in aparticular button group, the corresponding position in the button groupregister in the gate array changes state. Following the next 25millisecond interrupt signal, processor 84 causes gate array 82 tooutput the contents of that button group's register, in order among theother button groups, to common bus 80. In the embodiment depicted inFIG. 4, a button group may include up to eight buttons so that eachbutton position of the button group register may correspond to a dataline on eight bit bus 80. Thus, of the eight data lines in put toprocessor 84 from bus 80, seven are at a normal state while one haschanged state due to the pressed button. Because processor 84 causesgate array 82 to output the button group registers to the common bus ina certain order, processor 84 knows which button group is connected tothe common bus at any time. In this manner, the processor identifies theparticular button group from which it receives an input message. Theparticular button or buttons within the button group is determined bythe line or lines on common bus 80 that have changed state.

Once processor 84 determines that a particular button in a particularbutton group has been pressed, it generates an ASCII code correspondingto that particular button. This can be done, for example, either by analgorithm that is part of the processor 84 program or according to alookup table stored in EPROM 88. Once the code is established, it istranslated into a message which is stored in a transmit buffer in SRAM86 until processor 84 determines that the serial transmitter 89 ofserial port 34 is free. When the output line is free of data, processor84 outputs the stored ASCII codes from SRAM 86 through serial port 34 tothe output data line.

If two or more buttons in a button group are simultaneously pressed,processor 84 converts each signal into a corresponding ASCII code andstores signals in SRAM 86 according to a predetermined order, forexample depending upon the data line over which they were received. Thecorresponding messages are output through serial port 34 in the order inwhich they are stored in SRAM 86. By this protocol, simultaneous buttonactivations are accommodated without information loss.

This assumes, however, that the activation of all the buttons representsinformation—data that the game program should receive to operateproperly. In some games certain buttons, for example “Bet” or “Hit”buttons, are in appropriate at certain times. While the game programitself may be configured to ignore the data resulting from these buttonactivations once such data is received, the program may controlprocessors 84 and 96 (FIG. 5) to mask these buttons so that the data isnot forwarded to the game computer. Additionally, the processors may beprogrammed to recognize one or more button activations, and notrecognize one or more others, when buttons are simultaneously activatedwhere the latter buttons may always be ignored in favor of the formerbuttons. In any event, the video gaming device may be configured toignore button activations which do not represent information whilemaintaining the ability to process those simultaneous button activationsthat do.

Processor 84 may also receive inputs from bill acceptor 20, tokendispenser 78 and/or ticket dispenser 19 through the gate array.Alternatively, bill acceptor 20 may communicate directly with processor84 through serial port 85, as indicated by dashed line 87. The inputsfrom bill acceptor 20 primarily relate to the amount of currency inputby the player. Inputs from the token dispenser generally concern errors,for example that there are insufficient tokens in the dispenser. Inputsfrom ticket dispenser 19 may include error signals but may also includesignals indicating, for example, that a ticket has been printed anddispensed.

These devices are programmed to output an appropriate message to gatearray 82 in a predetermined format, for example, ASCII hexadecimal. Uponreceipt of such a message, gate array 82 stores a digital signalindicating the origin of the message and sends a second interrupt signalto processor 84. Upon receipt of this type of interrupt signal,processor 84 reads the identifying signal stored in gate array 82 andcauses gate array 82 to pass the input from that particular device tocommon bus 80 where it is read by processor 84. Processor 84 convertsthese messages, either by a program algorithm or by a lookup table, toan ASCII code which is output by serial port 34.

Processor 84 may drive a parallel printer 83 to print redeemablecoupons. This arrangement may be used in place of a ticket dispenserthat outputs preprinted tickets in fixed denominations. In addition, acentral printer driven by the game computer may be used instead ofindividual player station printers.

Data commands to a player station are received through serial port 34 byprocessor 84, which stores the command in SRAM 86. The command willidentify a particular output device, for example ticket dispenser 19 ora lamp in a lamp group 68. Assuming the latter, processor 84 writesappropriate data on bus 80 to drive the particular lamp, whilepreserving the previous state of the other lamps in the group, andinstructs gate array 82 to apply this instruction to the appropriatelamp group. Instructions to bill acceptor 20, token dispenser 78 andticket dispenser 19 are generally in the form of digital words which aredownloaded to the particular devices through gate array 82. These outputdevices are configured to receive this information and act accordingly.The particular construction and configuration of these devices are wellknown in the art and need not be described herein.

Player station 16 also includes two nonvolatile RAM/real-time clocks 91and 91A for maintaining data between power cycles and for power-offintrusion detection. The battery-powered devices remember how manytokens are deposited during a vend cycle as the tokens are beingdeposited. Thus, if the machine is to deposit ten tokens, but powerfails after only six are deposited, the NVRAM/RTCs 91 notify processor84 and/or the game computer that four additional tokens should bedeposited. As indicated in FIG. 4, NVRAM/RTCs 91 communicate withprocessor 84 through gate array 82.

Two NVRAM/RTCs 91 are provided for error checking purposes. During avend cycle, for example, one NVRAM/RTC 91 is incremented before a tokenis deposited, and the other is incremented after the token is deposited.Accordingly, following a power-up, a vend cycle or a token deposition,microprocessor 84 detects an error if the registers of the twoNVRAM/RTCs do not agree. In this case, processor 84, the game computeror a central computer may shut down further operations of the playerstation 16 until the error is resolved.

NVRAM/RTCs 91 also provide a security function. In a preferredembodiment, switches are disposed at the game machine's money pit andelectronics pit so that if the door to either is opened, a line ispulled low. Each line is connected to a respective NVRAM/RTC 91 so thatif it goes low, the memory register for the respective NVRAM/RTC 91 iscleared. If processor 84 detects this condition, for example followingpower-up or after a periodic scan, an error is detected, and theprocessor or game computer stops the player station's activity until theerror is resolved.

Further, upon detection of an error, processor 84 may output anappropriate message through serial port 34 to a central computer that,in turn, may provide notification to an operator. In investigating andattempting to resolve the error, the operator may communicate with theprocessor 84 through serial port 93 with an appropriate computer orother device. As indicated in FIG. 4, serial ports 93 and 95 are on-chipports of processor 84. Serial port 95 may be used as an alternative portby which to communicate with the central computer or other playerstations, as discussed in more detail below.

Player stations 16 communicate with the game computer through aconcentrator board 40 (FIG. 3). A schematic illustration of concentratorboard 40 is provided in FIG. 5. In the star arrangement, each playerstation communicates with concentrator board 40 from the playerstation's serial port 34 (FIG. 4) to a serial port on the concentratorboard. Four serial port groups 90 are provided on the concentratorboard. Each serial port group 90 includes four serial ports, each havingan input line and output line. Thus, each serial port group has eightdata lines in communication with an eight bit data bus 92. Accordingly,in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5, sixteen player stations maybe connected to concentrator board 40, although in preferred embodimentsthree or five player stations are employed.

Field programmable gate array 94 controls communication of data alongbus 92 between a processor 96 and the ports and devices communicatingwith the bus. Any suitable processing device, for example, an8051-compatible microcomputer, may be used. Gate array 94, EPROM 98 andSRAM 100 may include the same or similar components as the correspondingcomponents on the player stations.

EPROM 98 stores the program executed by processor 96. Processor 96 mayinclude its own internal memory for use as buffers. Preferably, however,SRAM 100 is included to provide additional memory.

A player input message from a particular player station is received at aserial port, which communicates with that player station, in one of theserial port groups 90, where it is stored in the serial port groupregister. Upon receipt of an interrupt signal periodically sent by gatearray 94, processor 96 instructs gate array 94 to sequentially connectthe register of each serial port group 90 to the eight data lines ofcommon bus 92. In this manner, processor 96 is able to determine fromwhich serial port, and therefore from which player station, it receivesdata. Processor 96 stores the incoming data either in its internalmemory or in SRAM 100.

As discussed above, the incoming messages are in the form of ASCIIcodes. Processor 96, either by computer program algorithm or by a lookup table stored in EPROM 98, assigns a scan code appropriate for theparticular ASCII character from the particular player station. The scancode is then stored in SRAM 100.

Processor 96 monitors the status of keyboard output port 102 by gatearray 94. If the output data line is clear, processor 96 outputs thestored scan code from SRAM 100 over bus 92 to gate array 94 to keyboardoutput port 102. Keyboard output port 102 communicates with the gameprocessor via a personal computer keyboard port.

Data may be downloaded from the game computer via a keyboard input port104 or serial port 106. If data is downloaded to keyboard input port104, gate array 94 sends a second interrupt signal to processor 96,which then instructs gate array 94 to put the data on common bus 92 forstorage in SRAM 100. Data downloaded through serial port 106 is storedby processor 96 in SRAM 100. If the incoming message is a command for aplayer station, processor 96 causes gate array 94 to connect theappropriate serial port in the appropriate serial port group 90 tocommon bus 92 and outputs the command to the common bus.

Concentrator board 40 also includes connections for button groups 108and 110, lamp group 112, digital output device group 114, switches 116,bill acceptor 118, token dispenser 120, and ticket dispenser 122. Theseconnections are provided for direct connection of their associateddevices to concentrator board 40. Thus, concentrator board 40 may beconfigured to function as a single player station, operating asdescribed above regarding player stations 16 (FIG. 4). Thus, in apreferred embodiment, a game cabinet may be constructed housing apersonal computer assembly and a concentrator board assembly wherein theplayer stations are removable. Thus, multiple player stations may beinstalled and connected to serial ports in serial port groups 90 forcommunication to the game computer through the concentrator board. Thegame, may, however be converted to a single player game by removal ordeactivation of the multiple player stations and installation of asingle player station whose components connect directly to theconcentrator board 40 as indicated in FIG. 5. Multiple alternative gameand operating programs may be stored in, or programmed into, the gameprocessor and the concentrator board processor so that they may operatein a new configuration. Thus, a game assembly may be convertible betweena single player and a multiplayer configuration.

Although the button groups, serial ports, lamp groups and output devicegroups are illustrated in FIG. 5 as being connected to bus 92 so thatgate array 94 may selectively connect their registers to the bus, itshould be understood that these devices may be connected to the busthrough the gate array.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a daisy-chain arrangement of the presentinvention. In the embodiment illustrated in these figures, a serial portof game computer 124 is the head of a bi-directional RS-232 networkimplemented using intelligent controller cards, each having two serialcommunications ports termed the “up” and “down” ports. In general,commands from the game computer flow first into the concentrator upport, the first external node in the network. Commands from the gamecomputer are echoed to the concentrator down port and output to thefirst player station, player station 16 a, up port. If the command isintended for processing by this player station, the command message isparsed and queued. Otherwise, the message is echoed to the playerstations down port and output to the next player station up port. Playerinput messages generated by the player station and player input messagesreceived from other player stations through the player station's downport are queued and dequeued, for example in round-robin fashion, to thestation's up port as complete messages as they become ready.

Command messages and player input messages are processed at thenon-interrupt level. Serial port buffers are managed at the interruptlevel. This prevents the loss of data when the processor is busy withlocal tasks.

In this fashion, command messages are passed from the game computer tospecific player stations, and input messages from the player stationsare passed up to the game computer. The concentrator 40 receives commandmessages from the serial communications port of game computer 124. Itroutes input messages from player stations to the game computer throughits keyboard port. Thus, input messages may be directed to the computeras keyboard scan codes as described above.

Each of the tandemly-linked player stations illustrated in FIG. 7 may beconfigured as shown in FIG. 4 with the use of serial ports 34 and 95.Thus, one of the serial ports is used as the up port and the other isused as the down port. The up ports and down ports are bi-directional.Thus, assuming player station 16 illustrated in FIG. 4 is player station16 b illustrated in FIG. 7, the up serial port 34 received commandmessages from, and outputs input messages to, the down port of playerstation 16 a, while the down port receives input messages from, andoutput command messages to, the up port of player station 16 c. Commandmessages received by the up port are stored in SRAM 86. The commandmessage includes an identifier indicated for which player station it isintended. Processor 84 reads the identifier and, if the command messageis intended for player station 16 b, acts upon the message as describedabove. If, however, the command message is intended for player station16 c, processor 84 directs the message to the down port for output toplayer station 16 c.

Player station 16 b receives input messages from player station 16 cthrough its down port and stores them in SRAM 86. Since these messagesare intended for the game computer, processor 84 directs them to playerstation 16 a through the up port. The input messages from player station16 b are also passed to player station 16 a through the up port.

Processor 84 may simultaneously receive and store messages from its dualserial ports (the up and down ports). If a message is to be passedthrough the player station, processor 84 may simply direct the messagefrom one serial port to the other, or it may place the message on SRAM86 for output at a later time. In any event, a player station mayprocess command and input messages received from external sources whilegenerating its own input messages without losing information even if,for example, a command message and an input message are received at thesame time a button is pressed at the player station. Thus, from theperspective of player station 16 b, the interface between it and gamecomputer 124 is concentrator 40 and player station 16 a.

A receive-only serial device, such as sign 142, may be connected on theend of the chain. The network messaging protocols may be designed toallow other devices to be connected without mutual interference. Thatis, the message formatting for the player station network may bedifferent than that used by the sign, and the two protocols may coexistwithout interference.

FIG. 8 illustrates one preferred player station network architecture.There are three distinct processing levels for handling network traffic.At the hardware level 113, two standard on-chip serial communicationsports 113A and 113B, handle all data serialization and deserialization.At the interrupt level 115, the on-board processor handles charactersreceived from or sent to the serial ports. At the interrupt level, theprocessor manages two receive buffers, 115A and 115B and two transmitbuffers, 115C and 115D. At the applications level 117, where all of theapplication's code has the same execution priority, the processor queuesand dequeues messages in three queues 117A, 117B, 117C. An input queue117A holds parsed command messages for processing by the applicationfirmware. Two output queues 117B and 117C hold complete input messagesfrom the player station to be passed, using an arbitrary prioritizationscheme, to the up ports output buffer. Round-robin prioritization, forexample, may be used to empty the output queues.

The above description illustrates both a star and daisy-chainarrangement. The concentrator and player stations support eithertopology. While the concentrator arrangement may exhibit superiorperformance, the daisy-chain arrangement is, generally less expensive.The choice among star, daisy-chain and a combination of the twoarrangements will depend upon the requirements of a specificapplication.

Referring now to FIG. 6, personal computer assembly 124 houses a gameprocessor such as a CPU 126, for example a PENTIUM processor, forexecuting a blackjack gaming program responsively to the player inputmessages from player stations 16 (FIG. 4). An input/output system suchas a BIOS 128 receives the input messages from concentrator boardkeyboard output port 102 (FIG. 5) by keyboard port 130 and bus 132. BIOS128 outputs a signal to CPU 126 over a bus 134. As should be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art, BIOS 128 may decode or encodesignals received by CPU 126 depending upon, for example, theconfiguration of the personal computer assembly.

Moreover, a variety of circuitry configurations are possible within therange of personal computers. For example, a variety of input/output,memory (for example RAM 136), buses, and other devices may be arrangedin various suitable configurations. Furthermore, various methods may beemployed utilizing such devices and configurations in communicatinginformation between keyboard port 130, or other suitable data inputport, and CPU 126. It should be understood that all suitable suchpersonal computer configurations may be employed in accordance with thepresent invention.

As it executes a video card gaming program, CPU 126 outputs videodisplay signals to a monitor 138 via a parallel port 140. The video cardgaming program executed by CPU 126 permits interactive participation bya plurality of players at player stations 16 (FIG. 1).

The video card gaming program is preferably written in an “event-driven”language such a Visual Basic or Visual C. An event-driven programperforms operations responsively to “events”, such as the depression ofa push button that, in turn, causes BIOS 128 to output a signal to CPU126. As should be understood by those of ordinary skill in this art,personal computers are generally equipped with operating systems whichare configured to manage communication between the personal computer andthe software programs. In particular, the operating system is configuredto recognize certain signals, for example scan codes received by thekeyboard port and to convert such signals into predetermined codes, forexample ASCII codes, which may be utilized by the program. In apreferred embodiment, personal computer assembly 124 is anIBM-compatible system using a MSDOS-compatible operating system. Thescan codes assigned by the concentrator board (FIG. 5) are converted bythe operating system to ASCII codes which are utilized in operation ofthe video card gaming program.

Although a variety of card gaming programs may be utilized in accordancewith the present invention, in one presently preferred embodiment CPU126 is configured to execute a blackjack game wherein the gaming programgenerates a “dealer's” blackjack hand on monitor 138 that is visible tothe players at the player stations. The players submit wagers, accept orreject card “hits” and select game options via the keys at the playerstations. The player's hands are displayed on monitor 138 along with thedealer's hand in a manner similar to the display of cards on a casinoblackjack table. Various versions of the basic blackjack or “21” gameare known and may be employed in accordance with the present invention.

Various types of metering devices may be employed within the system. Forexample, an “in” meter may be used to count the amount of money put intothe gaming machine. The construction of such meters, which should bewell understood in the industry, need not be described herein.Typically, however, the meter is a relatively simple counter which isincremented by pulses. The in meter may be implemented within a systemof meters 101 as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, one or more such meters maycommunicate with common bus 80 directly or through gate array 82.

In operation, the game computer may receive data from a player station'sbill acceptor 20 corresponding to an amount of currency accepted. Thegame program recognizes this amount and causes the game computer orprocessor 84 to output an appropriate number of pulses to the in meterso that the in meter properly increments, thereby recording the amountof money input at the player station. The number of pulses sent to themeter depends upon the denomination by which the meter is to count. Forexample, if the machine accepts currency in dollar, or greaterincrements, the meter may increment for each dollar input at the machineor player station. Thus, if a player inputs a five-dollar bill, themeter is incremented five times.

By controlling the meter through the game program, various types of billacceptors may be used, for example those which output data by pulses orby digitally formatted signals. Various types of currency may beaccepted, for example, paper, coins or electronic media.

Other such meters may be attached within the system in a similar fashionfor other purposes. For example, the game program may increment an “out”meter to record the amount of money cashed out at the machine or playerstation, for example through a coin or bill hopper, ticket dispenser orelectronic output mechanism. The program may also increment a “creditsplayed” meter, to record how much money is wagered at a player station,and a “credits won” meter, to record the mount of money returned to theplayer station as winnings. Additionally, switches may be provided atcertain game doors, as described above, so that the game computer isnotified of openings and/or closings. Upon notice of a door or draweropening, the game computer may increment a meter installed for thispurpose. Such an arrangement may serve a security purpose, since thegame's owner or operator may monitor the meter to assure that the gamehas not been opened since the previous meter reading. It shouldtherefore be apparent that various game “events” may be metered usingthe arrangement and construction of the present invention.

The meters may be employed in a variety of game configurations. Forexample, as described above, they may be used in conjunction with aninterface assembly as described herein that facilitates communicationbetween player stations and a workstation running the game. They mayalso be used, however, in arrangements without such an interfaceassembly, such as embedded systems or networked player stations notemploying common interface. In an embedded system, the meters cancommunicate with a dedicated processor on a printed circuit boarddirectly, for example, through direct wiring to the circuit board, orindirectly, for example through processors at the player stations. Thededicated processor can increment the meters appropriately as events,such as money in, money out, money wagered, money won and door openingsor closings, occur. In the networked arrangement, the meters may beincremented by a server, either directly or through the player stations,or by player station processors.

As noted above, one or more meters may be employed to record data foreach player station. Alternatively in a multiplayer game, a group ofmeters may be used to record such data for the multiplayer game as awhole, rather than per player station. Such meters may be attached asperipheral devices to the concentrator board 40 (FIG. 5) or to one ofthe player stations. Furthermore, meter groups, whether for use with thegaming machine as a whole or with individual player stations, may beplaced on their own boards. Such a board may include, for example, amemory device, a microprocessor and, possibly, an FPGA. Its constructionand operation would be similar to that of the player station 16arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4, but on a smaller scale. In a stararrangement, such a board could communicate with an interface processingsystem 48 by a serial port 42 (FIG. 3). In a daisy-chain arrangement,the meter board, or boards, may be linked with the player stations.

Moreover, the player stations themselves may be constructed by multiplesuch boards, each containing a certain group of input and/or outputdevices. Thus, a player station may have a board for its meters and aseparate board for its buttons. In this manner, defective components maybe replaced without requiring replacement of the entire player stationhardware. Further, a cabinet may be more easily reconfigured to play adifferent game which might require a different configuration of certainplayer station devices. Moreover, it should be recognized that thehardware arrangements illustrated in the figures are for illustrativepurposes only and are not intended to limit the present invention. Forexample, the gate arrays on the player stations and the concentratorboard could be replaced with other appropriate circuitry. Accordingly,it should be understood that any suitable design is within the scope andspirit of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a system in which video gaming machines maycommunicate with a central computer without a location controller. InFIG. 9, a multiplayer video gaming machine 10 includes a game computer124 (for example a personal computer) communicating with three playerstations 16 through a concentrator board 40 in a star configuration. Asnoted above, game computer 124 receives information from, and outputsinformation to, each player station 16. Thus, game computer 124 is ableto calculate all metering data associated with each individual playerstation. Game computer 124 communicates this information to a centralcomputer 140 through a modem 142 or, for example, a direct wire linkfrom a data port on computer 124. Modem 142 may be an on-board modemwithin computer 124 or a separate modem with which the computercommunicates by a modem card.

In this manner, computer 124 provides security and activity informationfor each player station 16. For example, messages from computer 124 tocentral computer 140 may include an address that identifies a givenplayer station so that the central computer can identify the messagewith that player station and respond accordingly. For example, insystems where a location controller identifies a particular game by theport over which data is received and outputs serial data to the centralcomputer identifying the game, the game computer 124 may be programmedto communicate with the central computer using the same protocol usedbetween the central computer and the location controller. Thus, thepresent invention may replace a location controller in an existingsystem without requiring that the central computer be reprogrammed.

The game computer may provide a variety of data to the central computer.For instance, if game computer 124 receives a message from a playerstation that its money pit door has been opened without authorization,this information may be provided to central computer 140 so that thecentral computer may take appropriate action directed to that playerstation. For example, the central computer may direct an operator to theplayer station and/or instruct game computer 124 over modem 142 to shutdown operation of the player station. In the latter case, the returnmessage from the central computer to game computer 124 includes anaddress or other code structure identifying the player station to whichthe instruction applies.

As noted above, game computer 124 receives all metering information, forexample, money in, money out, credits played and credits won, fromplayer station 16. It is therefore able to communicate this informationto central computer 140 through modem 142. If central computer 140 atany time determines that a player station 16 is operating improperly,for example by not maintaining an appropriate return ratio, the centralcomputer may issue a command return ratio, the central computer mayissue a command to game computer 124 to shut down that player station.

Concentrator board 40 may also communicate with single player videogaming machines 144 that would otherwise communicate with centralcomputer 140 through a location controller. These are conventional videogaming machines configured to output serial data to a locationcontroller. In this embodiment, however, the data line from each game144 is directed to a serial port 42 (FIG. 3) of concentrator board 40.As should be understood in this art, information directed to thelocation controller is provided in a standard protocol. Thus, theconcentrator board processor is programmed to read such signals and tooutput signals to game computer 124 that include the information carriedby the signals from the single player games and that identify theparticular games 144 from which the information was received. If thesingle player games are not adapted to provide an identifying address orcode in their output signals, the concentrator board processor may beprogrammed to add this information, identifying a game 144 by theparticular serial port from which a signal was received. Game computer124 may be programmed to output all signals, whether pertaining toplayer stations 16 or single player games 144, in a format in whichcentral computer 140 would expect to receive information from a locationcontroller.

Central computer 140 may also issue instructions to shut down a game 144that is not operating properly. Game computer 124 receives thisinstruction and outputs an appropriate signal to the concentrator boardin response. The concentrator board processor then directs anappropriate instruction for example, in a format in which the game 144would expect to receive such an instruction from a location controller,to the serial port corresponding to the appropriate game. Game computer124 identifies the appropriate game 144 in its message to theconcentrator board processor.

The system may also be effected in a daisy-chain arrangement. One sucharrangement is illustrated in FIG. 10, in which game computer 124communicates with a first player station 16 which tandemly communicateswith two downstream player stations. As discussed above with respect toFIG. 4, the first player station communicates with game computer 124 andthe subsequent player station 16 through its serial ports 34 and 95, andthe second player station 16 communicates with the upstream anddownstream player stations through its serial ports 34 and 95. The finalplayer station 16 communicates with its upstream player station and aconcentrator board 40 through its ports 34 and 95.

The concentrator board 40 may be constructed as illustrated in FIG. 3,except that the keyboard port 54 is not used. Specifically, concentratorboard 40 communicates with the upstream player station 16 and each ofthe single player games 144 through respective serial ports 42. When theconcentrator board processor receives information from a particular game144, it identifies the game (either by data include in the message or bythe identity of the particular serial port from which the informationwas received) and outputs a message to upstream player station 16 thatidentifies the nature of the message (i.e., that it intended for thegame computer 124 rather than one of the player stations), the identityof the game 144, and the message information. As discussed above withrespect to daisy-chain configurations, the upstream player stations passthe message on to game 124 that, in turn, outputs an appropriate messagecarrying the information to central computer 140. Central computer 140may communicate with player stations 16 and single player games 144through game computer 124, which directs messages down the chain to aparticular player station as discussed above or to concentrator board 40for output to the serial port 42 (FIG. 3) corresponding to theparticular game 144.

As noted above, concentrator board 40 is able to operate player stationcomponents. Thus, rather than adding an additional board, concentratorboard 40 may be used in place of the last player station 16 in FIG. 10while also directing message traffic to and from the games 144.

As an alternative to the concentrator board arrangement illustrated inFIG. 10, each game 144 may be retrofit with a board having a processor,at least three serial ports and appropriate memory, for example usingsuch components as described above regarding the player station boardillustrated in FIG. 4. It should be understood, however, that the gameboards may employ any suitable circuitry, for example replacing theprocessor with suitable logic circuits.

The first game board serial port is used to communicate between theboard and the game 144. This function may require an additional serialport, one for input and one for output, depending on the game'sconfiguration. The other two serial ports perform the “up” and “down”functions as described above with respect to daisy-chained playerstations. That is, one serial port is used to communicate withdownstream devices while the other is used to communicate with upstreamdevices. Thus, a message intended for a particular game 144 may beoutput from the last player station to subsequent game boards until themessage reaches the board on the correct game. The messages includes anaddress identifying the game so that it is recognized by the gameboard's processor, which then outputs an appropriate message to the gamethrough the first serial port. Messages from the game 144 to the centralcomputer are output through the game board first serial port and aredirected by the game board processor to the game board up port foroutput to upstream game boards and player stations to the game computer124, which then communicates with central computer 140. Tandemly linkedplayer stations retrofit with such boards are schematically shown inFIG. 11. In an alternate arrangement, the upstream most game 144 mayoutput directly to a data port of game computer 124, as shown by adotted line 147.

As noted above, a single player video gaming machine may be constructedusing a game computer and a single player station 16 or concentratorboard 40 as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5. In this case,any number of single player or multiplayer games may be daisy-chainedtogether as shown in FIG. 12. The game computer of each downstream gamecommunicates with its adjacent upstream game by a data port on theupstream game's game computer or by a player station serial port. Thegame computer of the upstream most game communicates with centralcomputer 140 through a modem 142 or through-a direct line connectionfrom a data port of the game computer. Where enough serial ports areprovided on the player stations, all upstream and downstreamcommunications may be effected through player station serial ports.

Moreover, it should be understood that various suitable configurationsare possible. For example, a game computer having USE technology cancommunicate with up to 127 serial devices on each USE port. Thus, a gamecomputer having one or more USE ports could perform the function ofconcentrator board 40 in FIG. 10. It should be understood that allsuitable arrangements and component configurations are included withinthe scope and spirit of the present invention.

Multiplayer video gaming devices in accordance with the presentinvention may be employed in existing systems having locationcontrollers. Referring to FIG. 13, a multiplayer game 10 includes a gamecomputer 124 and three player stations 16 arranged in a daisy-chainconfiguration as discussed above. Referring also to FIG. 4, each playerstation has four serial ports. Two of the serial ports 34 and 95function as the up and down ports. One of the other ports 85 and 93,however, communicates with a location controller 146. Player stationprocessor 84 is configured, in conjunction with game computer 124, tooutput information corresponding to each particular player station inthe same output format as games 144. Thus, central computer 140 andlocation controller 146 are able to treat each player station 16 as ifit were a separate game.

Instructions directed from the central computer to a player stationthrough the location controller are detected by the player stationprocessor 84. Thus, processor 84 and/or game computer 124 is able toshut down the operation of a given player station 16 responsively tocentral computer 140 without affecting the operation of the other playerstations.

An alternate embodiment is provided in FIG. 14. Here, player stations 16are disposed in a daisy-chain arrangement with respect to game computer124. Rather than communicating directly with each player station,however, location controller 146 receives player station informationfrom a board 148. Board 148 may include a processor, at least fourserial ports and appropriate memory as described with regard to suchcomponents illustrated in FIG. 4. It should be understood, however, thatboard 148 may employ any suitable circuitry, for example replacing theprocessor with suitable logic circuits.

Game computer 124 accumulates information associated with each playerstation and outputs messages specific to a given player station to oneof the serial ports on board 148. The board 148 processor receives thesemessages and directs an appropriate message to a particular serial portcorresponding to a particular player station 16. The game computerand/or the board 148 processor may configure the messages so that theyare output at these serial ports in a format compatible with localcontroller 146. Thus, local controller 146 sees three separate inputscorresponding to three separate player stations, permitting these playerstations to be treated by central computer 140 as separate gamemachines.

The processor of board 148 is programmed to receive instructions fromcentral computer 140 and to output an appropriate message identifyingthe intended player station 16 to game computer 124 so that gamecomputer 124 may take appropriate actions with respect to that playerstation. Where the configuration of central computer 140 and locationcontroller 146 permit, board 148 may be omitted so that game computer124 may communicate with the central computer through the locationcontroller over a single serial data line. Alternatively, locationcontroller 146 may communicate with game computer 124 over three seriallines where game computer 124 includes sufficient serial ports. Itshould also be understood that the player stations of FIGS. 13 and 14may be arranged in a star configuration.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above,it should be understood that any and all equivalent realizations of thepresent invention are included within the scope and spirit thereof. Theembodiments depicted are presented by way of example only and are notintended as limitations upon the present invention. Thus, whileparticular embodiments of the invention have been described and shown,it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in this art that thepresent invention is not limited thereto since many modifications can bemade. Therefore, it is contemplated that any and all such embodimentsare included in the present invention.

1. (canceled)
 2. A multiplayer card gaming system comprising: a) aplurality of spatially separate player stations, each said playerstation including: at least one input device for allowing a player toenter game play selections into said system; at least one output devicefor communicating game play outcome to a player; and means formonitoring a plurality of events at said player station; b) a gameprocessor interfaced to said plurality of player stations; c) a singledisplay monitor interfaced to said game processor for displaying gameplay of each player station together; and d) a remote computerinterfaced to said game processor for monitoring events of multipleindividual gaming machines; wherein, said game processor is programmedfirst to execute a multiplayer video card gaming program in response toinputs received from said player station input devices, determine anoutcome of said gaming program for each player station, display saidoutcome on said video display monitor and communicate said outcome tosaid player station output devices; and second, to receive playerstation event information from said event monitoring means in each saidplayer station and, in response thereto, to send messages to said remotecomputer, each said message identifying a one of said player stations asa corresponding one of a plurality of gaming machines and an event atsaid one said player stations; and, in response to receipt of a commandfrom said remote computer to shut down one of said player stations,sending a shut down command to said one of said player stations from theplurality of gaming machines.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein saidremote computer is programmed, to operate a progressive jackpot featurein which all communication player stations may participate.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein said player input devices are buttons.
 5. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein said player input devices include magneticand integrated circuit card readers.
 6. The system of claim 2, whereinsaid player output devices include redeemable ticket dispensing means.7. A progressive jackpot system comprising: a) one or more multiplayercard gaming devices, said devices comprising: a plurality of spatiallyseparate player stations, each said player station including: at leastone input device for allowing a player to enter game play selectionsinto said system; at least one output device for communicating game playoutcome to a player; and means for monitoring a plurality of events atsaid player station; b) a game processor interfaced to said plurality ofplayer stations; c) an input means for entering a progressive jackpotfeature; d) a single display monitor interfaced to said game processorfor displaying game play of each player station together; and e) aremote computer interfaced to said game processor for monitoring eventsof multiple individual gaming machines and said remote computerprogrammed to operate a progressive jackpot feature in multiple gamingmachines may participate; wherein, said game processor is programmedfirst to execute a multiplayer video card gaming program in response toinputs received from said player station input devices, determine anoutcome of said gaining program for each player station, display saidoutcome on said video display monitor and communicate said outcome tosaid player station output devices; and second, to receive playerstation event information from said event monitoring means in each saidplayer station and, in response thereto, to send messages to said remotecomputer, each said message identifying a one of said player stations asa corresponding one of a plurality of gaming machines and an event atsaid one said player stations; and, in response to receipt of a commandfrom said remote computer to shut down one of said player stations,sending a shut down command to said one of said player stations from theplurality of gaming machines.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein saidplayer input devices are buttons.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein saidplayer input devices include magnetic and integrated circuit cardreaders.
 10. A video gaming monitoring system comprising: a) one or moremultiplayer card gaming devices, said devices comprising: a plurality ofspatially separate player stations, each said player station including:at least one input device for allowing a player to enter game playselections into said system; at least one output device forcommunicating game play outcome to a player; and means for monitoring aplurality of events at said player station; a game processor interfacedto said plurality of player stations; an input means for entering aprogressive jackpot feature; and a single display monitor interfaced tosaid game processor for displaying game play of each player stationtogether; b) one or more single player individual gaming machines; andc) a remote computer interfaced to said multiplayer card gaming devicesand single player individual gaming machines for monitoring events ofmultiple individual gaming machines; wherein, said game processor ofsaid multiplayer card gaming devices is programmed first to execute amultiplayer video card gaming program in response to inputs receivedfrom said player station input devices, determine an outcome of saidgaming program for each player station, display said outcome on saidvideo display monitor and communicate said outcome to said playerstation output devices; and second, to receive player station eventinformation from said event monitoring means in each said player stationand, in response thereto, to send messages to said remote computer, eachsaid message identifying a one of said player stations as acorresponding one of a plurality of gaming machines and an event at saidone said player stations; and, in response to receipt of a command fromsaid remote computer to shut down one of said player stations, sending ashut down command to said one of said player stations from the pluralityof gaming machines; wherein, said single player individual gamingdevices can receive a command from said remote computer to shut down;and wherein, said remote computer is programmed to transmit shut downcommands to each communicating gaming device uniquely.